Monday, September 24, 2007

Treasure Hunt

What is it about coins that makes men throw them into dishes, jars, cars, floors instead of just spending them? The men in my family seem to have a coin allergy.

My husband solved his coin problem by not dealing in cash any longer. It’s amazing how easy that has become. It used to be that many stores had a lower limit under which they wouldn’t allow a credit card purchase, but even in Starbucks your latte can go on your American Express card.

Yesterday I spent the afternoon searching for coins in every crevice and on every surface of the 1996 Dodge Caravan that recently returned from 4 years in the west. It was literally a gold mine of hidden treasure.

Today I tackled a bedroom, a basement, and pockets in long-forgotten clothes of someone who is currently studying abroad. There were lots and lots of coins everywhere and even a few bills.

I refuse to use the machine at Safeway that sorts your coins and keeps a percentage. Instead I invested in a bag of old-fashioned coin wrappers.

So what did I make on my treasure hunt? $90, with the greatest number of those coins being pennies. That’s more money than I have earned in several months!

15 Comments:

Pauline -- When my son does his own laundry, a sweep of the washer and dryer still usually results in a few coins!

I wonder if the younger generation's coin-disinterest has to do with the fact that they never put their coins in those little slotted cards each week, earning a savings bond when they had $18.75 in quarters. I think I must have my father's frugal gene. I will still pick up a penny off the sidewalk!

What else should I do with all the coins I accumulate: I can keep only so many in my pocket at a time. At the end of the day, when I empty my pockets, I keep a certain volume, including 3 pennies (that should make sure I never return with more than 1 more penny than I started out with, but sometimes I fail to stick to the plan), the rest have to go somewhere. Sometimes, even though I have the change I need in my pocket, I opt to get change back in order to save time. Yet another way that time is money.

Ulysses -- When asked why he never carries change, my husband always says, "But I don't have a purse to put it in." So I guess you guys are limited by the weight your pockets will bear. Did you intend to say "opt NOT to get change back"? That would make more sense (cents)! :)

Kristin -- I always carry change and never have more than I need. I have been known to pay for things mostly with dimes, nickels, and pennies, probably infuriating whoever was behind me in a check-out line.